**This review has been cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks. The previous books are reviewed here and here.**
**This book contains adult material and is rated 18+**
The siege on Nippon continues as the Trust has allied with the Egyptians and the lords of Nippon must band together to take back their lands. With the conflict intensifying, Mason tries to find a place under Tamazusa’s protection and Keno struggles against the brutal nature of his ancestor as battle brings it seeping to the surface.
In this book, Keno and Samojiro are headed into “annoying couple” territory. This is a personal pet peeve of mine and I’m sure people won’t agree with me; I have read many a series where the couple you’ve wanted to get together for the entire time keep sending the narrative to a screeching halt so they can bone as much as possible. This is not to say it ruins the book but I found myself skipping over their love scenes to get back to the war going on.
Other than that, I love how this book is not perfectly wrapped up for the next installment. As I received this series in a 4 book bundle (and reviewed one at a time so it didn’t take forever to get these books reviewed for you guys), I was wondering if each book would have a self-contained antagonist or an overarching one. All these little threads of manipulation carry through all three books and their effects don’t just disappear. Out of the three, this one is the most tense and ends with characters injured, separated, and floundering as to what to do next. The writing level and style carry through seamlessly and seeing all these different cultures in the Dreamlands is very cool! Very interesting overall. 4.5 out of 5.
